Case Number 23088: Small Claims Court

FAIRY TAIL: PART TWO (BLU-RAY)

The Charge

Ready for another Fairy Tail review? Just make sure that when you're
reading this, you turn the lights on and don't sit too close to the screen.

The Case

When we last left our heroes on the magical land of Fiore they were in some
deep trouble. Natsu (Tood Haberkorn, Eden of the East) the fire wizard
and his flying blue cat Happy (Tia Ballard, Rideback), had snuck off on
an unauthorized mission to help some islanders under a terrible curse. Coming
along for the adventure was summoning sorceress Lucy (Cherami Leigh, Birdy
the Mighty), and the no-nonsense ice wizard Gray (Newton Pittman,
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom). But the tough weapons sorceress Erza
(Colleen Clinkenbeard, Summer Wars) will not stand for anyone breaking
guild rules and has pursued the team with the goal of dragging their sorry butts
back to the guild hall.

However, things are much more dangerous than any of our heros suspect. A
face from Gray's past is the mastermind behind this evil curse. His ultimate
goal is nothing short of releasing a powerful demon trapped on the island. Gray
must come to grips with this revelation, and tell his friends a bit of his
backstory.

Like its predecessor, Fairy Tail: Part Two covers multiple story
arcs. We finish off the story of the cursed island (and Gray's history) and get
two one-off episodes, before another story arc kicks in. This one revolves
around the destruction of the Fairy Tail guild hall by a rival guild known as
the Phantom Lord. As our heros prepare to fight back, the whole thing turns into
a dangerous plot to capture Lucy. Lucy now has to decide if she should return to
her wicked father and spare her friends, or embrace her new life as a guild
member and fight at their side.

The focus here is character backstories, as Fairy Tail: Part Two
gives us a bit more insight into why these people do what they do. Gray's story
is actually pretty sad, as his actions as a boy end with the loss of his first
mentor. This guilt plagues him and creates some serious conflict in the first
arc. The second arc obviously gives us more information about Lucy and the
relationship with her father, as we discover more about a trio of supporting
characters who play into Natsu's story.

The two one-off stories are a lot of fun. One reveals how Natsu found Happy
(who hatched from an egg), while the other is a classic plot found in nearly all
comedic fantasy series -- the old switch-a-roo. In this case, a magical curse
causes all our main characters to switch bodies, which means we get super tough
Erza trapped in little Happy's body as Erza's body runs around doing silly
cat-like things. It's a nice break, after the more serious and dark story
concerning Gray.

But as dark as things get, Fairy Tail: Part Two is still very much
rooted in fun and comedy. Every episode has some great lines and silly
occurrences that keep you smiling. But there's plenty of action too, with Natsu
or Erza going ballistic and kicking evil wizard or demon butt. As before, most
of the violence leans toward the Looney Tunes arena, with little blood and no
death.

Funimation continues its solid Blu-ray presentation, delivering and
excellent standard definition 1.78:1/1080p widescreen picture and a Dolby TrueHD
5.1 English dub (as well as the original TrueHD 2.0 Japanese cast). The
subtitles remain well timed and easy to read.

In terms of bonus features, we get two commentary tracks featuring the
English dub cast and crew. The first features ADR Director Tyler Walker and
Newton Pittman during the Gray centric Episode 9. Then Mr. Walker is joined by
Leigh, Ballard, and Clinkenbeard, to discuss the hilarious switch-up episode. As
with previous commentaries, these are a mix of joking around and
behind-the-scenes information during which its revealed the voice actors had to
deal with some interesting challenges. We also get textless credit sequences,
and copies of all 12 episodes on two standard definition DVDs.

I was looking forward Fairy Tail: Part Two (Blu-ray) and was not
disappointed. The stories remain fun and move at a great pace. The characters
remain likable, while getting a bit more depth. And the excellent English dub
makes this an easy recommendation. Anyone looking for a fun fantasy adventure
need look no further. I can't wait to see what happens next.